Barry Michelson in the 27th District

Published 5:16 pm, Thursday, November 1, 2012

Stamford Zoning Board member Barry Michelson, a Republican, presents Stamford voters with an interesting opportunity in the race for state Senate in the 27th District.

He is a budget hawk, but not, in his words, "a slash and burn guy."

He believes Connecticut, and Stamford, would be better served by having a greater balance of opinions in Hartford, particularly on budget issues.

The argument has merit, particularly when coming from a candidate who researches issues as deeply as Michelson clearly does. He doesn't just advocate lower taxes as a way of luring business, he questions the manner in which the state spends money, such as the fungible nature of accounting that can make it difficult to see what funds raised in a bond offering, for example, are actually for.

We don't agree with all of the positions he puts forward, but we agree that the state could benefit by having a person like him serving in the Senate.

On the Zoning Board, Michelson has proved that he is not afraid to take a stand. For example, he urged his fellow board members to commission a consultant to draw up a boatyard plan based on the region's actual needs, so that the board could adequately judge South End developer Building and Land Technology's plan to replace Stamford's long-existing boatyard with another at a different, smaller location.

"Just because (BLT) submits something and says it's equal doesn't mean it is equal," he said.

Michelson is a straight talker, who also questions the wisdom of investments like the state spending $174 million for a high-speed rail line between New Haven and Springfield, Mass.

"It got a lot of fanfare, but both are high unemployment areas," he says, "how's it going to work?"

He would add value to the debate in Hartford.

At the same time, it is difficult to endorse against Democratic incumbent Carlo Leone for re-election.

Finishing his first term in the Senate, Leone served five terms as a state representative and is a good legislator.

A veteran himself, Leone is chairman of the Veterans Committee, and wants in his next term, if he gets one, to make it a standing committee, which means its bills wouldn't have to go through another committee to make it to the floor. That would be important given the increasing number of new veterans in the state and country, which will only pick up once we leave Afghanistan.

He also wants to continue building a framework for transferring military experience to the workforce to help veterans find employment.

Under Leone's leadership, the General Assembly last year created new incentives and subsidies for businesses that hire and train post-9/11 combat veterans.

As a representative, he worked to make the film tax-credit program a long-term success, in part by working with community colleges to offer training for jobs in the industry.

Leone has always had a good reputation for constituent service as well. If Stamford voters re-elect him, they will continue to be well served by his representation.

But we like what Michelson has to offer, and it is a good thing to get new voices and perspectives into government. We endorse him for state Senate in the 27th District